On Reflection | What a controversy over the Taj Mahal says about a changing India
A tourism guide to Uttar Pradesh has pointedly ignored the medieval wonder, sparking a controversy that has even drawn in Prime Minister Narendra Modi
It is an instantly recognisable symbol of India. When filmmakers want to show they are shooting in London, they use Big Ben. In Paris, it is the Eiffel Tower. In Rome, it is the Colosseum.
And when they want a symbol of India, it is always the Taj Mahal.
Of course, the Taj is more than just a monument that symbolises India. It is also one of the wonders of the medieval world, an architectural marvel of extraordinary beauty.
It was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a mausoleum to his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, an elaborate tribute to their great love story. More recently, it has become a symbol of the search and the loss of love.
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When Prince Charles first came here, he was looking for a bride and posed enthusiastically on a bench in front of the Taj. But by the time he returned to India with his wife Diana, he had already found and lost love. Charles and Diana were no longer on speaking terms, so the princess went to Agra alone, posed forlornly on the same bench and photographers sent that picture around the world.